


Chased Far From Home By Shadows

by ZarryFTZouis



Series: Chrissy's Oneshots [17]
Category: Dark-Hunter Series - Sherrilyn Kenyon, The Vamps (UK Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Guarded Brad, M/M, Mating Bond, Sort of Pining James
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-20 00:10:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3629382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZarryFTZouis/pseuds/ZarryFTZouis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brad isn't the most trusting Were-Leopard after joining a new patria.</p><p>James wants to change that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chased Far From Home By Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> For non-Dark-Hunter series readers, I shall explain this universe. Were-Hunters are shapeshifters with pre-determined forms by birth. Arcadians are those whose ‘base form’ is that of a human and Katagria have their animal forms as their base. Nine-thousand years ago, a kind created this race of ‘humans’ to save his sons from dying, which ties into the whole Apollites/Daimons/Dark-Hunters shit.
> 
> Apollites are damned to die on their 27th birthday and if they turn into a Daimon by absorbing a human’s soul, they become a Daimon, immortal but still banished from sunlight. Dark-Hunters are created by the goddess Artemis to kill the Daimons. They were betrayed by someone and Artemis heard their soul crying for vengeance, blah blah blah.
> 
> When a Were-Hunter has sex with his mate, the mating mark appears on their palms. The mates are determined by the Fates at birth. After the mark appears, they have three weeks to complete the ritual, which is having sex with their marked palms pressed together, or they’re impotent for rest of their rather long lives. There’s an option of bonding lives together, which simply means that when one dies, other follows.
> 
> Ooh, and when they hit puberty, their base forms can change if they’ve a Katagri and Arcadian as their parents.
> 
> Enjoy :)
> 
> [Title slightly altered from "Towards The Sun" by Rihanna lyrics "shadows chased me far from home" to sound more like how Sherrilyn titles her works.]

Brad should be more careful and he bloody well knows that.

He didn’t exactly get along with the patria he was born to so he fled before they could execute him. He didn’t do anything wrong, really, but the fact that he was a black leopard born to two _normally-golden-coloured_ leopards was just enough reason. He was a scapegoat and tired of it, hence the reason why he moved far, far from his birthplace of Birmingham.

“You’re thinking awful lot,” a voice resonates from behind the leopard, startling him. “Relax, it’s just me.”

Brad hisses at James, one of the members of his new-ish patria. For whatever the reason, he felt close to the other Arcadian Leopard.

Like he could trust the other lad.

“So?” Brad challenges the older.

“You have to let go of those thoughts sooner or later,” James purrs at him, his blue eyes lit with amusement. “No one here hates you.”

 _Yeah, because none of you know I’m half-Katagri_ , Brad comments silently inside his head without projecting the thoughts to his patria-mate.

It’s weird, how Brad is thirty in human years, which translates into teenager in Were-Hunter years. He still looks like a teen and he hasn’t a clue how old James is. Appearance wise, they don’t look that much apart in age.

“And you can stop hissing every time someone approaches you,” James rolls his eyes at Brad’s defensive stance. “What really happened in your old patria?”

“Nothing that should concern you,” Brad replies curtly. “I left for a reason.”

“Open up to me, please, _gataki_ ,” says James, using the Greek word for ‘kitten’, which is an endearment amongst any Were-Hunters with feline animal forms. “Please.”

“Just because I befriended you, that doesn’t mean I will tell you everything about my past,” Brad hisses at James, ignoring his request.

“You’ve never shown me yourself in your leopard form,” James cocks his head to the side. “Does that have to do with anything?”

“No,” _yes._

“I’m a Sentinel, I will shock you and force you to change forms,” James threatens Brad.

“Oh try me,” Brad huffs, knowing James wouldn’t actually do that.

There’s a green, elaborate marking on right side of James’ face, which he usually hides with his magic. Sentinels are selected group of Arcadians with exceptional magical abilities and among _those_ are Aristos, whose powers are unrivalled even by the gods.

Brad doesn’t know if James is an Aristos as well. Most Aristos hide their identities because the Strati, Katagria soldiers, will do anything to kill the Aristos.

“You’re thinking again,” James observes.

“Congratulations, you know basic stuff about people,” Brad shoves past James and oddly feels guilty about it.

-

A normal Were-Hunter after the age of twenty-five, which is when most of their kind hits puberty and their magic gets unlocked, should be looking for their mate but Brad doesn’t feel the urge to. Sure, he has the stupid hormonal urges as any other Were-Leopard of his age would, but he’s not going to shag randoms to find his mate.

 _What’s the point of finding my mate, determined by triple bitch goddesses, when she won’t love me back?_ Brad growls inside his head.

He left the camp in the forest just outside of urban Bournemouth to enter the town. The humans walking around him seem to be unaware of a shapeshifter walking amongst them, but it’s not like Brad advertises that fact.

“Looking for someone?” A female voice calls out, getting Brad’s attention. “Or are you just wondering about.”

Brad tenses up, sensing that the girl isn’t entirely human. She has dark skin tone with curly black hair and brown eyes his enhanced sight shows tiniest specks of grey and green.

“I’m not an enemy, _leopard_ ,” the girls rolls her eyes at Brad’s defensive actions. “I may be half-demon, but I’m not as violent as full-blooded ones.”

“A name would be nice,” Brad growls.

“Leigh-Anne, and yours?” The demoness — Leigh-Anne — arches a brow.

“Bradley.”

 

Half an hour later, Brad learns that Leigh-Anne isn’t harmful like she said. She told him that she’s just a wandering demon, honing her powers.

“You’re an unmated Were,” Leigh-Anne tilts her head to the side. “How come you aren’t trying to get in my pants?”

“Because I’m not really interested in sex with strangers, as strange as that sounds, coming out from a Were,” Brad knows he should get back to his patria. “There’s one person though…”

“Let me guess, it’s a bloke and you want to question yourself because the whole point of mating is to reproduce,” Leigh-Anne takes a guess.

“Maybe,” Brad doesn’t completely trust Leigh-Anne.

“I heard that there’s one Dark/Were-Hunter who got mated to a male Daimon,” Leigh-Anne shrugs. “Who knows what those bitches are really planning.”

Brad just offers a wry smile at the half-demoness, wondering if that’s his case with James.

Because he does want to shag James most of the times, as much as he wants to deny the thought.

-

It’s not against the Were-Hunter rules that a patria member leaves the camp for hours, but James is still worried about Brad. Who knows if rogue Katagria will attack the lad?

 _Why am I so… attached to Brad?_ James can’t fathom what he feels for the younger Were-leopard. _In my century of existence, no one caught my attention like him…_

Brad is just a cub compared to James, still trying to figure out his magic, whilst James is excellent at wielding his magic against Katagria that attack his patria. On his 25th birthday, he woke up with green scrolling marks on right side of his face. Being a Sentinel is an honour, but being an Aristos as well is highly dangerous. He never told anyone about _that_ , and his patria-mates just assume he’s a really powerful Sentinel.

James feels sexual desires for Brad, which he doesn’t mind. He had sex with both genders and females in his patria aren’t exactly his type. If a female in heat wants to mate with him, he just goes with it, his own reluctance not really a problem. He just has to be careful and mask his powers after sex so no one suspect just how powerful he is.

“Lost in your thoughts?” Brad’s voice rings out. (James did not smile like a lovesick idiot at the sight of shorter lad, he definitely didn’t.) “Not that it matters.”

“Where have you been?” James curses inside his head for sounding too sharp.

“Out,” Brad looks like he isn’t in the mood to talk. “Does it concern you that I was outside the camp?”

James sniffs at Brad.

“Who were you with?” He growls at the younger leopard.

“Don’t get all possessive over me, you haven’t the right to,” Brad rolls his cold brown eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to–”

James growls out of frustration and pulls Brad close to him, one arm wrapped around his waist, and dips his head down to kiss Brad. He wasn’t expecting Brad to kiss him back so when he does, he cups Brad’s face and deepens the kiss, prying the younger’s lips open. Brad isn’t resisting, but he’s not doing much anything.

Letting James take control.

“No,” Brad groans against James’ lips, then pulls away from their kiss. “I’m not going to.”

James stares at the spot James purrs against Brad’s lips like a cat, spiking his tongue against the other’s. Brad lets out a delectable sound, a sound that goes straight to James’ dick. It’s been quite a while since the last time James had sex, (probably a decade ago, he’s not overly sexually active like most of the Were-Hunters) and he wants Brad so badly. He extends his free arm to grope at Brad’s arse, greeted by helpless mewls from the young leopard.

James stares at the spot Brad was a second ago before he flashed away.

-

 _That was fucking close_ , Brad curses as he flashes to his den in his patria camp. _For two years, I could resist him but one kiss and my control is gone._

Brad finds his fingers finding their way to his lips, still tingly from the kiss.

 _Gods_ , _I’m acting like a girl who just got her first kiss from her crush_ , Brad shakes his head to get rid of the thoughts of him and James. _Why would he kiss me though?_

“You’re horrid at running away,” Brad groans at James’ voice. “Don’t you think I’d assume you ran away to your den?”

“Will you please sod off?” Brad snaps at the older lad. “I’m not in the mood.”

“You never seem to be in mood for me,” James taps at his chin. “Why?”

“I’m just horribly sociophobic,” Brad curses when James crowds him against the wall. “Sod off.”

“Please let me in,” James pleads before crashing their lips together again. Brad changes the simple brushing of their lips to a kiss this time, wrapping his arms around James’ neck. It feels so right, how their bodies fit together as they kiss passionately. He jumps up and wraps his leg around James’ waist, one hand on the side of his neck. James purrs against his lips again like a cat, something Brad actually likes. He lets the older lad carry him to the bed in the middle of his den, James’ weight crushing him in a delectable way. James trails kisses from his lips to his neck, and Brad soon realises that the older lad is trying to find his soft spot. Given he never had any _intimate_ moments with anyone else before, he himself doesn’t know where the fuck that is.

Apparently, his soft spot is the hollow right above his collar bone, because the instance James’ lips hover over that spot, Brad feels a pleasurable shiver running down his spine. James smirks and sucks on the spot, making Brad writhe from pleasure. He actually purrs at the sensation, cupping the back of James’ head.

“Mm, everyone can now see that you’re marked as mine, _gataki_ ,” James purrs out his words, licking over the love bite he just gave Brad. “Are you still going to resist?

 _No._ “Yes.”

“I guess I have to persuade you further then, don’t I?”

Brad knows he has to protest, but his body won’t listen to him. He doesn’t say anything as James removes his jeans and palms him through his boxers. He’s _never_ been naked in front of another person so when the barrier is gone, he knows that he’s blushing hard.

“Please,” James pleads again, looking up with a hooded gaze, his large hand wrapped around the base of Brad’s shaft. He sucks his lower lip between his teeth, watching James put his lips around his now-fully-hard cock. He can easily push James off and wank but he _wants_ this intimacy, no, he _needs_ this. James goes down until Brad can feel his tip hitting the back of the Sentinel’s throat. He’s embarrassed that he already feels so close when James has barely begun.

(The fact that he is a virgin isn’t a good excuse.)

Brad comes in James’ mouth when their gazes lock together, feeling his powers surge from the aftermath. It’s a Were-Hunter thing, having their powers increase after any form of sex.

“Brad,” James speaks softly after swallowing Brad’s load.

“I shouldn’t have let you do that,” Brad pulls James to him regardless, his mostly naked body pressed to James’ fully clad one.

“That wasn’t horrid? I never, um…”

“For the first time sucking someone off, you weren’t bad,” Brad just purrs, pressing his lips to James’ neck.

-

James watches Brad drifting off to sleep after he gives the younger lad a blowjob, smiling fondly. If Brad let him touch him in such intimate way, surely that’s one step closer to earning his trust?

“You make me feel everything,” James mumbles, stroking Brad’s fluffy curls. “And I want to know why.”

 _The answer is obvious,_ James’ subconscious self tells him _. And I’m just denying it because it shouldn’t be possible._

“I’m not going to bloody sleep when you’re watching me creepily,” Brad’s voice is muffled by the pillow. “So lay down with me.”

“You want to just _sleep_ with me?” James arches a brow, then realises Brad can’t see him. “You trust me enough not to do anything to you.”

“You’re a Sentinel, surely you hold honours and valour highly?” Brad turns around, his soft brown eyes boring into James’ own blue ones.

“Alright,” James envelopes Brad into his arms, getting comfortable. “I’m a cuddle sleeper, babe,”

“Don’t–” Brad yawns wide like a sleepy cute little kitten. “–call me that.”

“Have a nice rest, babe,” James ignores the other Were-Leopard, closing his eyes.

-

Brad wakes up before James as the sun sets, sky’s colours of gold, crimson, violet, and orange shown through the window he has on the wall facing the entrance. James is still curled up against his body, his hair looking more light brown than medium blond in the setting sun.

“You frustrate me a lot, McVey,” Brad mutters under his breath, pressing the urge to touch his hair. “And if we actually are mates, I wouldn’t mind it at all.”

If James heard him, he doesn’t show any signs that he did.

Brad untangles James’ arms from his waist and rolls out of the bed, grabbing his clothes and getting dressed. He glances back at James before going through the entrance.

“Wow, someone surely smells like he got laid,” a smug voice comes from very closely behind him, making him groan. “About time, cub.”

“Peter,” Brad growls at the older patria-mate, turning around to face Peter. “What the fuck do you want?”

“Oh nothing, I was just strolling through the camp,” the other lad’s cold grey eyes don’t Brad’s brown ones. “It’s been quite a while and everyone wants to know why the hell you left your birthplace.”

“None of your business,” Brad growls again. “And even if I had sex, why does that matter to you?”

“You’re an oddball who never had a lay in all the months I’ve known you,” Peter shrugs. “So why now?”

“Leave him the hell alone,” Brad jerks his head in the direction of James’ voice. Crap, when did he even wake up? “Like he said, it’s none of your business.”

“You and your strange attachment to that cub,” Peter growls this time, unhappy with James’ intervention. “Why do you like that freak?”

Something that could’ve been identified as anger and remorse, possibly, flickers across James’ blue eyes.

“That is also none of your business,” Brad feels a surge of power and Peter is knocked backward by James’ magic. “So fucking leave.”

“What are _you_ hiding from me?” Brad hisses at James. “You didn’t have to bully him with your powers.”

“He was getting on my nerves,” James hisses back. “And I know you feel it too.”

“What, the physical attraction just because I let you suck me off?” _The purpose of mates is to procreate but if what Leigh-Anne told me is true, it’s possible… that James is my soulmate_. “I don’t.”

“I could sense you lying to me, _gataki_ ,” James growls, his blue eyes aflame with frustration. “You _do_ feel it.”

“We’re both blokes, we can’t possibly be mates,” Brad states the very thing he’s been avoiding. “If I recall correctly, those triple bitch goddesses assign us mates — our soulmates — at our birth so that we can fuck and reproduce. And last time I checked, we both lack a certain equipment if we were to have babies.”

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” James seethes, scaring Brad for the first time ever since Brad came to this patria. “All we need to do is have sex and prove you wrong.”

“I’m not going to shag you,” Brad snaps, betraying his leopard’s desires and instincts. “No fucking way.”

“Stop lying to me, goddammit,” James reaches out to grab Brad’s wrists, pulling him close to him. “Stop hiding from me.”

The physical contact is strong enough to reignite the lust he feels for James, rendering him powerless to his desires. Brad growls and uses his free hand to push James’ head down, initiating a kiss. James purrs like a kitten again as he kisses Brad back, his arms secure around Brad’s waist. He likes this, being kissed by James like he’s loved.

Love he never felt back home.

James uses his magic to teleport them to his own den, pinning Brad underneath him, and deepens the kiss. Brad parts his lips, their tongues spiking against each other. He’s growing hard and maybe he _does_ want to have sex with James and experience what it’s like.

“Fuck no,” Brad regains his control and pushes James off of him, who looks at him with a confused expression. “I like being alone.”

He flashes to his den, fleeing from James.

-

 _He had no right to do that!_ James growls inside his head, hard from the kiss he just shared with Brad _. It was_ him _who started the bloody kiss and he just runs off like that? What the hell could he possibly be hiding?_

If anything, Brad could be an Aristos like him, but he doesn’t have the markings of a Sentinel so that’s not likely.

 _Unless he’s been hiding his Sentinel marks from everyone, which makes no bloody sense_ , James reasons.

“Something troubling you?”

James turns around to find Tristan. The other lad is slightly taller than him, as much as he hates admitting that. They’ve been friends for decades, pretty much ever since Tristan was born, since James has twenty years older than the other.

“You can say that,” James catches Tristan staring at his Sentinel markings. “I just don’t know what to do about it.”

“If you did, you wouldn’t be having the problem to start with,” Tristan tells him in a fond tone. “So, who is this person?”

“Someone,” James isn’t going to talk to his friend about his mate stuff drama.

“Mate, the entire patria knows you’re the closest person to Bradley,” James arches a brow questioningly, asking Tristan to go on. “You feel attached to him.”

“If I do, what’s it to you?” James wants to apologise for sounding too sharp but there’s no time for that.

“If he’s going to open up to anyone, it’ll be you,” Tristan leaves after that.

 _Bloody fantastic_.

-

“I’m _just_ saying that you’re an idiot for denying the fact,” Leigh-Anne drones on. “I don’t know much about you Weres, but one thing I know for sure is that it’s essential for you to find your mate.”

Brad doesn’t know why, but talking to Leigh-Anne calms him just a smidgen. After last night’s incident, he needs to talk to someone and that lucky person is Leigh-Anne. He doesn’t know much about the girl other than the fact that she’s half-demon, but she seems nice enough to him.

“You’re just saying that because you’ve heard about a Dark-Hunter/Were-Hunter being mated to a bloke,” Brad groans, sipping his latte. “It’s just lust I feel for him, nothing more.”

“Lust for your mate, that’s what it is,” Leigh-Anne seems to be adamant about James being Brad’s mate, which is really frustrating for the Were-Leopard.

“Just plain lust,” Brad corrects the demoness. “Something I never felt before meeting him.”

“Because he’s your mate, you bloody moron,” Leigh-Anne insists.

 _Maybe, but I don’t want to be a burden to him_.

-

 _“Mm, you’re so pliant_ , _” James tells Brad, both naked on a bed. “Are you going to scream out my name when I take you?”_

_“That’s what I’ve been dreaming about for ages,” Brad tells the other, wanting to purr at the sensation of their bare skins against each other. “You’re all that I think about.”_

_“Is that so_ , gataki _?” James purrs his words out, pressing his lips to Brad’s soft spot. He mewls at the contact, tightening his legs around James’ waist. How did he fail to notice that earlier? “You’re so beautiful.”_

_Brad groans when he feels James’ fingers ghosting over his entrance, teasing him. He growls at James warningly, nipping at the older lad’s earlobe. James finally pushes his fingers inside of Brad, making–_

 

Brad wakes up with a start, his hair sticking to his forehead from perspiration. He runs his fingers through his hair, calming his breathing.

 _Did I just really have a sex dream about James?_ Brad wonders. _Bloody hell_.

 

He fails at going back to sleep after his dream, haunted by what would have happened if he didn’t wake up from it. In the dream, he probably would have let James fuck him, his inhibitions in the real world not present.

When the sunlight seeps through the window, Brad just growls and jumps out of his bed, gets dressed, and leaves his den.

Bumping right into James.

Their eyes meet and Brad’s face flushes, remembering the erotic dream he had.

“Morning to you too, _gataki_ ,” James dips his head down to nuzzle at Brad’s neck with his nose, just like a cat would. _We’re Arcadians, not those savage Katagria_. “Had a great night’s sleep?”

“Don’t act like we’re actually mates,” Brad growls but doesn’t push the other Were-Leopard away. “What were you doing outside my den?”

“I was on my way to get breakfast, but you rudely bumped into me,” James explains, sniffing at Brad’s neck. _Possessive bastard_. “Wanna join?”

“Sure, but if you make a move on me, I’ll kick your arse.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

 

Twenty minutes later, Brad and James are inside a café that serves breakfast meals. Brad orders plain full-English whilst James gets scrambled eggs and waffles.

“You can’t keep resisting the urge to have sex with me,” James bluntly points out, making Brad choke on his sausage. “You know it’s true.”

“Just because of a possibility?” Brad hisses at his patria-mate. “If the mating mark appears and we don’t finish the ritual, we’ll both be impotent for rest of our very long lives.”

“I’m pretty sure you’d be willing to have sex with me again after we do it once,” James rolls his eyes, stuffing his mouth with waffles.

“I just don’t think it’s the brightest idea, shagging just to see if we’re actually mates,” _even though I feel a deep connection to you_. “Because we’re both blokes.”

“Who knows if same-gender couples can be mates?” James arches a brow. “Everyone knows the Fates are bitchy.”

“Uh-huh.”

 

After the breakfast, James asks Brad if he wants to go for a walk and he says yes. There’s no harm in walking around the forest, or that’s what he makes himself believe.

“Tristan thinks I can squeeze my way past your guard,” Brad looks at James with an arched brow. “He thinks I’m the closest person to you.”

“Well, you’re sort of the only friend I have in our patria,” Brad never really talked to Tristan before, but be knows the bloke is James’ best mate. “Since you’re the only one who bothers to talk to me.”

“That’s sort of true,” James chuckles. “No one sees how much of an adorable kitten you are.”

“We’re both Were-Leopards, we know that we aren’t kittens,” Brad growls playfully. “Those things are house pets.”

“Oh hush, our animal forms happen to be big felines, aka kittens,” James rolls his eyes. “But back to my point, you’re adorable.”

“No I’m not,” Brad growls again, this time none too playful. “I’m a ball of snappy arsehole.”

“You’re aren’t an arsehole to me _most_ of the times,” James counters. Brad notes how close they’ve gotten and shuffles sideways. “Why won’t you open up to me?”

“‘Cause there’s no way in hell I’m telling anyone about my past,” Brad answers truthfully. “And just because we’re doing couple-y things doesn’t mean I’m letting you fuck me.”

“Harsh,” James grasps his shirt above where he’s heart is. “I thought you trusted me.”

“I do,” Brad regards him with coldness, “just a tad bit more than rest of the patria.”

Brad feels his eyes widen when James crashes their lips together in a frenzied kiss. Like the other times they kissed, Brad just lets it be, kissing back eagerly. They’re in the part of the forest close to their camp but frankly, Brad doesn’t give a damn. So what if a tessera of Katagria stumbles upon them? He can hold his own. He raises an arm to loop it around James’ neck and deepens their kiss, his lips parted. James purrs against his lips, nipping at his lower lip before sliding his tongue in.

Brad hates to admit it, but before James, no one ever took interest in him so James was his first kiss, but he wants the other leopard to be his last first kiss. He’s still new to the whole concept of kissing, but James isn’t saying that he’s horrible at it so he reckons he’s doing a decent job. He spikes his tongue against the older lad’s, copying the purring. It’s a _housecat_ thing to do, bloody purring, but like James said, they’re still cats. James grips his waist not gently, but not too roughly either, grinding their crotches together. Brad can feel himself growing harder from the action, mewling pathetically. James is quick to undo Brad’s trousers and slip his hand inside his boxers, firmly grasping his hard cock. Brad purrs at the pleasurable friction, nipping at James’ lower lip. He undoes James’ jeans as well, thinking about what they can possibly do.

James seems to have an idea, now, holding both their shafts in his hand, and jerks them off. Brad continues to purr against James’ lips, too lazy to do anything else. He coats James’ hand with his release after several minutes, slumped against the taller lad’s body.

“Nothing will happen to us until he actually have sex, you know that,” James presses a kiss to Brad’s forehead. “I’ll be waiting for that moment, _gataki_.”

-

James falls asleep after the non-penetrative sex he had with Brad, (he has no idea what it’s called, frottage maybe? Okay, maybe he knows a bit about sex.) The other Were-Leopard looks cute whilst asleep, his Sentinel markings shown since he isn’t using his magic to hide it. They’re in James’ den, and Brad has no intention of leaving it anytime soon.

“It’s so easy to come back into you,” Brad mumbles, stroking James’ hair. “But only person I trust nowadays is myself.”

“How heart-warming,” Brad whips his head around to find Tristan. “That idiot is in love with you.”

“He isn’t,” Brad counters, hissing at the older lad. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I happen to be James’ best mate, meaning I’m free to visit him whenever,” Tristan rolls his eyes, leant against the wall. “What are you doing here?”

“I happen to be his… friend,” _there’s no way in hell I’m telling him that James and I might be mates._ “It’d be lovely if you weren’t here.”

“So what, you can shag him?” Tristan scoffs contemptuously. “Don’t give him any false hopes.”

“It’s sort of hard to nap with you two bickering so loudly,” Brad almost jumps at James’ voice. “Tristan, leave Brad alone.”

“I don’t want you to be hurt, that’s all,” Tristan glares at Brad before leaving.

“Wow, he’s really protective of you, isn’t he?” Brad crawls onto the bed and curls up against James’ warm body. “I’m not using you or anything.”

“He seems to believe otherwise,” James presses a kiss to Brad’s temple, an affectionate gesture Brad never got in his life. “But I don’t.”

“I could be,” Brad counters, curious about James’ reaction.

“I know you better than that, _gataki_ ,” James licks at his nose like a bloody cat would show affections. “What are we going to do now?”

“ _We_ aren’t doing anything,” Brad growls, rolling out of bed. “You have to wait for centuries if you want that lay.”

“Ouch.”

-

Brad lied to James when he told the other lad that he has to wait centuries before they shag. The truth is that he fucking wants to shag him, but he’s not ready for the consequences.

 _What if the mate marks appear on our palms, as bloody ridiculous that sounds?_ Brad ponders, now sat on the bed in his own den. _If that happens, and we don’t finish the ritual, we’ll both be left impotent_.

 _But you’d want to finish the ritual, bond your lives together, even_ , the sane part of him tells him. Is he seriously talking to himself over this?

“I do feel it,” Brad whispers into the air, knowing James can’t hear his words. “But I don’t want to let anyone in, not with my fucked up past.”

-

James sleeps horribly, tossing and turning, and when he wakes up after a fitful slumber, his phone says it’s 6.00.

 _Fucking hell_.

He turns around to find Brad sat on the edge of his bed.

“Morning,” Brad looks like he’s contemplating something. “How was your sleep?”

“Horrible,” James replies truthfully. “Why are you here?”

“Are you against me being here?” James shakes his head. “Good.”

Brad crawls towards him and slings a leg over his waist, then dips his head down to capture James’ lips. He’s stunned that Brad initiated the kiss, but composes himself fast enough to kiss him back. He’s hoping that his morning breath isn’t horrible and if it is, Brad isn’t complaining about it. Brad purrs against his lips, the sound going straight to his dick. To make everything worse, Brad starts to grind down against James, letting him know that he’s hard too.

“I thought I had to wait centuries for sex with you,” James chuckles against Brad’s lips, lapping at the gap between them.

“Maybe I lied,” Brad whispers back. “Do you have..?”

“Can I just manifest lube?” Brad gives him a droll look. “Okay, fine, I will.”

James makes a bottle of strawberry-scented lube appear, which Brad arches his brow at.

“I like strawberries, okay,” James defends himself.

“Whatever you say, babe,” Brad rolls his eyes.

With a growl, James flips them around, pinning Brad’s petit body underneath his. Brad mewls, but doesn’t fight. James abuses his powers and gets them both naked, earning a glare from Brad.

“What?”

“I imagined my first-ever lover would take my clothes off slowly,” Brad pouts, which James kisses. “You ruined that fantasy.”

“We’ve got plenty of more time for that,” James counters, opening the lid and slathering the slippery substance on his fingers. He pushes one in, met by a lot of resistance. If James is going to be Brad’s first, he might as well as be his only.

-

Brad glares at James when he just flashes their clothes off after pinning him under his gorgeous body.

“What?” James asks.

“I imagined my first-ever lover would take my clothes off slowly,” Brad replies with a pout; James kisses his pout. “You ruined that fantasy.”

“We’ve got plenty of more time for that,” James tells him, squirting the lube on his fingers. The first thing Brad notices when he pushes one finger is that lube feels fucking cold. The other thing is that the stretch is manageable. James adds two more in soon enough, stretching him out. Brad opens his mouth to say something when James curls his fingers, pressing into a spot inside of him that pleasures him a fucking lot.

“That’s your prostate,” James purrs, thrusting his fingers in at the same angle. “I’m guessing you never fingered yourself.”

“Shut up and make love to me,” Brad hisses. If he was in his leopard form, his eyes would be in slits.

James lets out a sound that’s a mixture of purring and laughing, lubing his shaft up, then dips his head down to capture Brad’s lips again. Brad decides he likes the way James tastes without the morning breath after minutes of kissing — peppermint, which he guesses as his toothpaste. He can feels the head of James’ erection pressed to his hole, something he didn’t think would happen for a long while.

“Tell me if it hurts,” James kisses Brad’s cheek as he pushes in. Brad tenses in at the intrusion, his face scrunching up from the initial pain. He’s not a bloody girl, but he knows Arcadians dream about doing it face-to-face for their first time, so that’s a plus. He grabs the base of James’ neck and smashes their lips together. The older lad starts to thrust into him, the pain dissolving into pleasure, hitting his prostate dead-on. He purrs into the kiss, feeling James’ tongue spiking against his own.

“So tight and good for me, _gataki_ ,” James purrs against his lips, picking up his speed. Brad mewls in response, the pressure against his prostate too much. His lower stomach tightens up and he lets it go, coating James’ abs with his come. James groans, fucking into him couple more times before filling him up to the brim.

“I think I love you,” James pecks Brad’s lips.

 _I think I love you too_.

Brad doesn’t dare say that out loud.

-

The mate marks don’t appear right away, to James’ dismay, but Brad agreed on taking a walk around the forest after they get dressed again.

“Are you going to open up to me now?” James presses on.

“I was a scapegoat in my birth patria,” Brad takes his lower lip between his teeth, worrying it. “I got tired of it and left.”

“Well — keep still,” James hisses, hearing the bush near them rustling. Brad spots them before him, and they see a tessera of Katagria.

“Isn’t this wonderful?” One of the leopard-weres snicker. “Just a couple of pansy Weres.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that if I were you,” James says threateningly. “Because I’m not a pansy.”

“Is that so, big boy?” A female sneers, raising the Taser gun James failed to spot. “I think I’ll test that.”

James curses when she pulls the trigger, but Brad jumps in front of him, taking the hit instead. Brad’s form switches back and forth between his human one and animal, the electricity making it hard for him to retain one form.

And James notices that Brad’s pelt colour is… unusual.

 _Since when were there black leopards in our world?_ James ponders silently, but pushes that thought away.

“I will fucking kill you for that,” James growls, using his powers to suspend the tessera above-ground. “Like I said, I’m not a pansy, and you’ll be very sorry you ticked me off.”

Very pissed off, he sends the Katagria to the time period of Dark Ages.

“Shit, you’re obviously not okay,” James kneels beside Brad, whose form is still switching. “Um, I’ve never been tasered before so I have no idea how long this is gonna last.”

 _“Fucking taking me to my den would be nice,”_ Brad snaps at him telepathically.

“Okay, okay,” James rolls his eyes and takes them to the camp, to Brad’s den.

-

It takes hours for the electricity to leave Brad’s body, and once that happens, Brad summons clothes onto himself, blushing profusely.

“You do realise I’ve seen you naked a couple of times before, right?” Brad glares at James. “Okay then.”

“Don’t mention my leopard form to anyone else.”

“Why?” James cocks his head to the side, curious.

“I was picked on in my birth patria for that, I don’t want a bloody repeat,” Brad hisses at him. “And if you’re distressed that the mating marks didn’t appear, not my fault you were wrong.”

“Hm, we can have sex again to ensure we’re possibly mates,” James purrs, crowding Brad under him on the bed.

“I just got electrocuted and you want sex?” Brad nudges his nose against James’ neck. “Horny much?”

“Okay, fine, let’s cuddle for a bit.”

“Cuddle addict,” Brad rolls his eyes, but cocoons himself in James’ arms anyways.

-

When James wakes up, the sun is setting, and the fading sunlight illuminates Brad’s hair perfectly, making them a hue of rich earthy brown.

“You haven’t rejected me yet,” he mutters, brushing Brad’s fringe away from his eyes. “I guess that’s a good thing.”

“Did you say anything?” James nearly jumps out of his skin when Brad says that, yawning like a cute little kitten. “Mm, wanna go back to sleep.”

“Rude,” James comments, pressing a kiss to Brad’s forehead. “If you want, we can get dinner.”

“Mm.”

 

The dinner’s uneventful, and James’ desires to make love to Brad is stronger than ever.

“Gods, I can smell your horniness,” Brad giggles, pecking at James’ cheek. “You just had to ask.”

“Gee, I didn’t know that,” James can’t help but smile that Brad is being affectionate. “So, what about that sex?”

“I’ve never seen you so horny before,” Brad giggles again, pouncing on James. James chuckles at Brad’s ‘attack’, encasing him in a hug as he crashes their lips together. Brad tastes tropical and minty, something he’s getting used to now. The younger leopard parts his lips, letting James explore his mouth even better. He trails a hand down to cup Brad’s arse, garnering a drawn-out moan. He spikes his tongue against Brad’s, using his powers to undress them both.

“Very sexy,” Brad mutters, nipping and tugging at James’ lower lip. “You abuse your magic.”

“Do not,” James pouts, or does his best job at doing so whilst his lower lip is trapped between Brad’s teeth.

“If you say so, babe,” Brad releases James’ lip just to press his lips to James’ soft spot, purring as he sucks on the sensitive skin there. “Mm, you taste great.”

“Thanks?” James reaches for the bottle of lube and slicks his fingers up, pressing one inside Brad. The younger lad keens at the contact, arching his back. James rears his head and starts sucking on a bruise to Brad’s pale, unmarred skin, purring like a well-fed kitten. He soon adds two more, stretching Brad out. Brad purrs under James’ body as James reclaims his lips. James purrs back, removing his fingers to apply lube to his shaft, then sheathes himself inside Brad.

Brad purrs louder, wrapping his legs around James’ waist in an intimate embrace. He thrusts into Brad’s tight heat, loud keens letting him know that he found Brad’s prostate easily. He aims in the same angle, kissing Brad harder now. The younger lad goes pliant under him, lazily purring against his lips. James huffs out a frustrated breath and fucks into Brad harder and faster, which only increases the volume of Brad’s lazy purrs. He starts sucking on Brad’s jaw, jerking him off in time of the thrusts. Brad mewls out James as he releases between their bodies, James soon following the suit.

“Sleepy,” Brad yawns as James pulls out, cuddling into him. “If the marks were to appear, they can wait.”

James rolls his eyes.

“What?” Brad yawns again. “You wore me out with your awesome sexual prowess — fuck.”

James hisses in pain as a searing pain dances across his palm. He raises his hand to see elaborate scroll of a leopard head on his palm.

“Bloody hell, we’re both blokes,” Brad is the first to say something.

“Ouch, I’m already rejected and it’s only been five seconds,” James pulls Brad closer to his body. “Guess I’ll get used to my hand.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, you idiot,” Brad mumbles fondly, kissing James’ temple. “I’m just surprised.”

“This thing–” James waves his marked hand. “– indicates that we are, indeed, mates.”

“Are we going to do the..?”

“If you aren’t sore, yeah,” James smiles at the smaller lad, nuzzling his nose against Brad’s. “ _Gataki_ , I love you.”

“I think I love you too,” Brad whispers back. “Okay, last time I checked, the female has to take the male into her body at her own accord but we’re both blokes.”

James gives him a droll look.

“I’m not the girl in our relationship just because I bottomed for you!” Brad hisses out indignantly.

James stares at him more.

“Okay, fine, fine,” Brad huffs, rolling them around so that he’s atop James’ body. “Um.”

James chuckles and takes Brad’s marked hand in his, their marked palms pressed together. Brad lines James at his entrance and pushes down, making James purr at the tightness. Brad dips his head down to crash their lips together, meeting in a frenzied kiss. He nips at Brad’s lower lip as the other lad rides him at a slow, tantalising pace. It frustrates him, but he knows that Brad has to set the pace, not him.

“I will accept you as you are, I will always hold you close in my heart. I will walk beside you forever,” James recites the magical words that will bind them as mates for rest of their lives.

“I will accept you as you are, I will always hold you close in my heart. I will walk beside you forever,” Brad says it back, both releasing at the same time.

The _thirio_ , mystical force that urges the mates to bond their lives together tears into James’ senses. He can feel his canines elongated, and Brad’s looking at them in the same position.

“Do you want to bond with me?” James lisps around the fangs he isn’t used to in his human form.

“Yes.”

Without delay, James sinks his teeth into Brad’s neck at the same time as Brad’s tears into his shoulder. They come again, the clenching of Brad’s walls around James’ sensitised cock a bit too much.

“Forever,” James nudges at Brad’s neck with his nose after detaching his fangs from the same spot.

“Forever,” Brad giggles cutely, kissing the knuckles of James’ marked hand.


End file.
